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| Binata Mukherjee, M.D., MBA |
A study on perceptions about academic medicine coach training at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine has been selected for publication and deemed Best in Class by the Association of Academic Medical Colleges Group on Faculty Affairs (GFA).
The study, titled “A lifelong journey: A phenomenological exploration of faculty perceptions about coach training at an academic medical center,” evaluates the impact on faculty and staff as they undergo training to become coaches to medical students.
“Studies typically evaluate the impact on coachees and program outcomes,” wrote the author, Binata Mukherjee, M.D., MBA, assistant dean for faculty and professional development at the Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama. “Limited information is available about educating faculty to integrate the role of coaching.”
Data were collected through surveying 20 faculty members who had completed 34 hours of training in the Academic Medicine Coach Training Program. Mukherjee established the program at the Whiddon College of Medicine in 2021.
The study found that in the process of training to be a coach, faculty members not only recognized the benefits of coaching for learners but also realized individual personal benefits.
“The training evoked self-awareness and opportunities for personal growth,” Mukherjee said. “The newly trained coaches expressed the beginning of an internal transformation to embody being a coach and demonstrated willingness to influence personal and professional development of learners and colleagues.”
The paper will be included in the Group on Faculty Affairs’ repository of Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development research and scholarship. It was selected for Best in Class in the category “Developing the Next Generation of Leaders.”
Mukherjee also recently earned the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). The achievement represents the culmination of extensive training and practice in professional coaching techniques.
The Academic Medicine Coach Training Program trains about 20 volunteers each year to coach medical students as they progress through their education at the Whiddon College of Medicine.
